The Unseemly Education of Anne Merchant. Joanna Wiebe

      

      Praise for

       The Unseemly Education of Anne Merchant

      “This story will envelop you in its mysteries, surprise you with its plot twists, and keep you guessing even to the last page.”

      —San Francisco Book Review

      “Even when readers think they have it all figured out, Wiebe delivers a blow that will keep them energized and panting for the next installment.”

      —VOYA Library Journal for Young Adults Review

      “From the very first pages, I was spellbound by this deliciously dark tale of mysterious attraction, cutthroat ambition, and how far we will go to keep the ones we love.”

      —AMY PLUM, international bestselling author

      “She had me at the introduction of the spooky setting—the kind of stuff readers can lose themselves in. Joanna Wiebe is a fun new author to be on the lookout for!”

      —WENDY HIGGINS, author of The Sweet Trilogy

      “An original, breathtakingly written, and often chilling tale of what lengths people will go to for love. Joanna Wiebe has crafted a book that is unputdownable. Joanna has officially made my instant-buy list.”

      —LINDSEY R. LOUCKS, author of The Grave Winner

      “School grounds shrouded in mystery, beautiful student body obsessed with the race to be valedictorian, and a gorgeous, infuriating, unobtainable guy. Welcome to Cania Christy.”

      —A.E. ROUGHT, author of Broken

      THE

      UNSEEMLY

      EDUCATION

      OF ANNE

      MERCHANT

      THE

      UNSEEMLY

      EDUCATION

      OF ANNE

      MERCHANT

       By Joanna Wiebe

      BenBella Books, Inc.

      Dallas, Texas

      This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination and are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is coincidental.

      Copyright © 2014 by Joanna Wiebe

      First Trade Paper Edition 2015

      All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews.

      BenBella Books, Inc.

      10300 N. Central Expressway, Suite #530 | Dallas, TX 75231

      www.benbellabooks.com | Send feedback to [email protected]

      First e-book edition: January 2014

      ISBN: 978-1-940363-76-9

       Library of Congress has cataloged the hardcover edition as follows:

      Wiebe, Joanna.

       The unseemly education of Anne Merchant / by Joanna Wiebe.

       p. cm.

       Summary: From the moment Anne Merchant arrives at Cania Christy, a boarding school for the wealthiest teens, she has questions that remain unanswered, including why everything is a competition to be valedictorian and what mysterious reward comes with that title.

       ISBN 978-1-939529-32-9 (hardback) — ISBN 978-1-939529-33-6 (electronic) [1. Supernatural—Fiction. 2. Boarding schools—Fiction. 3. Schools—Fiction. 4. Wealth—Fiction. 5. Islands—Fiction.] I. Title.

       PZ7.W63513Uns 2014

       [Fic]—dc23

      2013027277

      Editing by Glenn Yeffeth

      Copyediting by Debra Kirkby

      Proofreading by Amy Zarkos and Michael Fedison

      Front cover design by Kit Sweeney Photography & Design

      Full cover design by Sarah Dombrowsky

      Text design and composition by Silver Feather Design

      Printed by Lake Book Manufacturing

      Distributed by Perseus Distribution | www.perseusdistribution.com

      To place orders through Perseus Distribution:

      Tel: [phone] | Fax: [phone] | E-mail: [email protected]

      Significant discounts for bulk sales are available. Please contact Glenn Yeffeth at [email protected] or [phone].

      CONTENTS

one | Wormwood Island

two | The Big V

three | My Guardian

four | Prosperitas Thema

five | The Scream

       six | The Model UN from Hell

       seven | Fire and Life

       eight | The Prince

       nine | Portrait of a Boy

       ten | In the Dark

       eleven | Cupid and Death

       twelve | Consequences

       thirteen | Looking Closer

       fourteen | My Soul to Keep

       fifteen | The Sculptor

       sixteen | The Many Lives of the Girls of Cania Christy

       seventeen | Death and the Maiden

       eighteen | The Quick and the Dead

       nineteen | The Tuition Battle

       twenty | The Ice Storm

       twenty-one | Ben Zin

       twenty-two | Nighttime in Heaven

       twenty-three | Portrait of the Artist’s Mother

       twenty-four | The Epiphany